Goodbyes Aren't Forever
by Random Ravenclaw91
Summary: Padma is happily married and has three children and another on the way! , but when her twin sister reappears fourteen years after they’ve last spoken, she realizes that she has been missing something after all.


"Mummy, Mummy, I can't find my Christmas stocking!" Rosaline whined, standing next to the fireplace. She might have been six, but she was still a firm believer in all Christmas tales.

"Mine're gone too!" Sara exclaimed, her bottom lip quivering. "How's Father Christmas going to know where to put my presents if he can't see my stocking?"

"Aw, sweetie, don't worry. We'll find your stocking and hang it up before Father Christmas gets here. You too, Leigh." For some reason, I always called my oldest daughter Leigh.

"That's just kids' stuff," claimed my eleven-year-old son, who was sauntering into the room. "Really, Ros, Sara, it's not–"

"Nick, not another word," I told my son firmly. I didn't want him to ruin Christmas for his two sisters. "Where's your father?"

"Someone was knocking on the door," he said, collapsing on the sofa in front of the television.

"On Christmas Eve?" I stood up again, but I felt a firm grip on my skirt.

"I bet _Nick_ took the stocking, Mummy. Make him give it back!"

"Leigh, did Nick say he took it?"

"No, but he's always mean," she answered, beginning to pout.

I laughed and took her hand, escorting her to the sofa, where Nick was looking pointedly away. "Nick, did you take them?"

"What makes you think that?" he asked in a seriously affronted voice.

"Nick…"

He leaned to whisper in my ear. "Come on, Mum, you know they're too old to believe in Father Christmas and everything… Well, not Sara, but Leigh's definitely too old."

"Come with me."

He followed me into the kitchen. "Nick, I know Leigh's getting to that age, but stealing their stockings is not going to make them wiser about Father Christmas. Just let it go this year. I know you'll find a way to tell Leigh before next year, but you have to leave them be this Christmas."

"But, Mum…"

"No buts, Nicholas. Now go look after your sisters while I make cocoa."

"Fine," he sighed, defeated.

"And make sure those stockings are back within the next hour."

"I will… Oh, and, Mum?" he said, staring down at his shoe. "I took their Christmas cards from Grandma too. They just haven't noticed yet. I'll bring them back… I just have to find them first," he muttered quietly, just barely loud enough for me to hear.

I opened my mouth to respond, but he was racing out of the kitchen. I couldn't even bring myself to go find him.

Shaking my head, I bustled around the kitchen, and a few minutes later I left the room with five mugs of steaming hot chocolate.

I stopped abruptly in the doorway. It was as though I was seeing my family right in front of me. Will, my husband, was talking to Nick, and Leigh and Sara were talking animatedly to the woman who looked just like me… except I was standing in the doorway.

After a moment of shock, I noticed some apparent differences between the woman and myself. She was dressed nicely in clothes that were obviously expensive. Her long, black hair hung loosely around her shoulders, while my hair was tied in a braid. She wore quite a bit of jewelry, while I only had my wedding ring.

I couldn't deny the obvious anymore. I knew who she was.

"Parvati?" I asked, my voice much louder than I intended.

"Padma," she said, rising quickly onto her feet by the fireplace, where only one stocking hung.

"What are you doing here?" I couldn't even think properly. My sister? I hadn't seen her in fourteen years.

"I missed my Christmas card," she explained, her voice light while her dark eyes searched my face. "Every Christmas card, actually, for the last fourteen years. And I daresay you've missed yours as well."

Will strode swiftly over to me. "You weren't expecting her?" he whispered to me.

"Will, I haven't seen her for years," I hissed back. "Why would I expect her?"

"She just sort of implied that you knew she would be here."

"She did?"

Will nodded. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, of course. Just a little surprised."

"Should you lie down?" he asked, concerned. His eyes gravitated toward my stomach. I wasn't showing yet, but there was another child on the way.

"No, I'm fine. Could you…?"

"Of course," he agreed quickly, giving me another concerned look. I smiled shakily at him.

Parvati watched silently as Will crouched down by Sara and Leigh. "Well, girls, how would you like to take a walk?"

"Is Nick coming?" Leigh asked, her nose wrinkling.

"Ros, honey, it's almost Christmas. Do you think Father Christmas would like you being mean to your brother?"

Nick rolled his eyes but said nothing. I helped my children bundle up for the cold, my mind numb. For the first time in ages, there were no thoughts going through my head.

"Bye! Have a nice walk!" I called as I watched the four of them retreat down the road.

My sister appeared behind me. "Padma–"

"It's cold. Let's go sit by the fire again."

"Are you mad at me?"

"Why would I be?" I asked. "It wasn't anyone's fault."

It had started at Hogwarts. Before going to school, Parvati and I had been as close as only twin sisters could be. Being sorted into different Houses hurt. It was the first thing that separated us. After seven years, we had grown so far apart. And when I told her I was going to get a job in the Muggle world, she didn't understand. She could never have understood that I needed to learn about the one thing that had always been a mystery to me. It had been too late to take Muggle Studies, and for some reason I wanted to try a way of life that was different. Maybe it was my Ravenclaw nature, but that's what I did. I opened a café and started a new life.

"I didn't try to stay close to you when you chose not to get a job in our world."

"I didn't either," I sighed.

When we were twenty-two, we stopped talking. We hadn't talked much before then, but after that, we just stopped. No letters, no anything. It wasn't much different, but it was the last step to being fully separated.

"Why did you come?" I asked.

She shrugged. "I just got a divorce, and that made me feel like I needed to see my family again."

"I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" A divorce? That must have been awful for her.

"It only lasted a year. You were always more about commitment than I was."

I thought of my husband and my family. "That's why you came?"

"I just realised that we're getting older. It's been _fourteen years_, Padma. Doesn't it seem like we should do something?"

"I never wanted it to go as far as it did," I admitted.

"Let's just talk. I want to hear about you," she pleaded, her eyes sad.

"What's there to say?" I asked, shifting my position: my back was getting too warm.

"Well, I didn't know you married a Muggle."

I smiled. She didn't look displeased, just confused. "Will's great."

"Isn't it strange, though? I mean, don't you ever wish that he was magical, like you? He can't really understand, can he?"

My eyebrows raised. "He understands me better than anyone in the world. He might not be a wizard, but–"

"Does he let you do magic?"

I laughed. "Let me? That's very _Bewitched_ of you to think."

"_Bewitched_?"

A waved my hand dismissively. "A television show," I explained.

"I mean, does he mind?" she clarified, grinning now.

"No, he doesn't. At first he thought it was strange, but he doesn't mind that it's part of me. I don't think he likes having Nick away so often, but all parents with a child in boarding school have to go through that."

"Nick's at Hogwarts?"

"Yes, he's in his first year."

"Are all of your children magical?"

"So far," I answered, my eyes twinkling.

She noticed. "What do you mean? Are you…"

Her eyes lit up when I didn't answer. "Padma, another one? _Four_?"

I grinned. "Yes, four. Maybe even more, who knows." It was strange how quickly we became comfortable with each other again. I had so expected it to take a long time.

"Will must like kids."

I laughed. "You bet he does… We both do."

"Congratulations!"

"What about you? Any children?"

She shrugged. "No."

"But you always wanted so many!"

She smiled. "I remember. You always wanted to work in the Ministry, and I always wanted a family with six kids."

"It looks like we got opposite of what we wanted… Unless you're not working at the Ministry anymore?"

"I'm not. I work at St. Mungo's."

"You're a Healer?"

"No, I work in research," she said with a laugh. "Can you imagine me as a Healer?"

I laughed again, but I stopped abruptly as I heard church bells.

"What's that?" Paravati asked. I walked up to the window and pulled back the curtain.

"Is it midnight already?" I asked. Midnight mass must have been starting. "Sara and Leigh are probably falling asleep right now."

Parvati smiled. "It's Christmas Eve–they won't want to go to bed until you threaten that they won't get any presents otherwise."

"Parvati, is it going to stay like this?" I asked abruptly.

"Like what?"

"Are we going to be close again, or is this just some feelings brought on by Christmas?"

"I don't know, Padma. I want us to be sisters again."

"We're always sisters."

"You know what I mean."

I nodded, watching the flames leap in the fireplace. "I think I want that too," I murmured.

"We're home!" I heard Sara scream from the door.

"Inside voice, honey," I reminded her, knowing beyond all doubt that she wouldn't pay the slightest attention to my scolding.

She pounced on me, her arms wrapping around my neck. "We had fun, Mummy. We went past the church, and there were a lot of people in there. Daddy said we would go in the morning… Can we go after presents?"

I laughed. "Of course we can."

"You're a Christian now?" Parvati asked softly from my side.

I nodded at her.

Leigh walked in, something clutched in her hand. "Daddy said you liked these, so we saved some for you."

She gave me a pouch of roasted chestnuts.

I looked toward the doorway, where Will stood silently. "Thanks, dear," I told him.

Leigh was looking intently at Parvati. "Daddy said you're our aunt."

She smiled. "Yes, I am. Aunt Parvati."

"How come we haven't seen you before?" Nick asked, finding it rather strange.

"I haven't been around before."

"Why not?"

"Enough questions. Besides," I continued as I watched Sara begin to yawn, "it's time for bed."

"I'm not tired!" said Sara

"Yes you are," Will told her, swinging her up onto his shoulders. "Time to go to sleep, you three."

Sara seemed to be battling if riding on her father's shoulders was worth it if she had to go to bed. Apparently she decided against it. "Let me down! I don't want to go to bed!"

He laughed and put her on the ground. He kneeled down in front of her. "Sara, do you know what happens if you don't go to sleep on Christmas Eve?"

She shook her head, very interested.

"Father Christmas won't be able to come," I explained, looking very concerned.

Her eyes grew very wide. I tried not to laugh. I looked at my sister, and she too was grinning. "She's so adorable," she whispered in my ear.

I watched as Will took Nick, Leigh, and Sara up the stairs.

"He seems great," she said.

"He really is."

She looked undecided for a moment. "Well, Padma, I should probably go now."

"You don't have to! We've barely had a chance to talk." I could feel myself growing disappointed.

"I'll come back sometime."

"Soon?" I asked, still not entirely sure that one day we would stop speaking again. It just felt strange to even consider that this closeness might last.

"Whenever you'll have me. I don't think your kids will forgive me if I don't get to know them."

"Why don't you come over tomorrow?" I offered impulsively. I really, really didn't want this to be the last time I saw my sister.

"It's Christmas tomorrow. You should be with your family."

"You're part of my family."

"You're sure you don't mind?"

"Of course not!"

She smiled, looking perfectly comfortable for the first time. "But I do have to go, Padma."

She hugged me quickly, murmuring so softly I could barely hear, "I missed you."

I returned the sentiment, and watched as she Apparated.

"Whoa, how did she do that?" Nick asked, his eyes wide.

I couldn't bring myself to scold him. "I'll tell you later. Go to sleep."

"Night, Mum," he answered, disappearing back upstairs.

I sat silently for a few minutes, thinking. There was so much I hadn't asked her. I didn't even know where she lived, who she had been married to, or how she got my address.

Well, I could always ask her tomorrow.


End file.
